Schreiner University’s Skye Thomas came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points to help the Mountaineers snap a two-game losing streak in a 61-52 victory over visiting Austin College on Friday night.
The Mountaineers overcame a horrendous shooting performance — 21-of-72 — by forcing Austin into 25 turnovers. Schreiner converted those turnovers into 20 points — outscoring the Roos 20-11. It was just enough to keep the Mountaineers in third place in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
“I think sometimes we just get so excited about a layup that we don’t complete the action,” Schreiner coach Stacey Stephens said of her team’s poor shooting night.
However, Stephens is happy to take the win with three games left in the regular season. The Mountaineers are 13-9 overall and 9-4 overall. Heading into Friday night, Austin was 1-21 overall and 0-13 in the SCAC, but that didn’t Roos any less problematic for the Mountaineers.
After a 32-21 halftime lead, Schreiner saw the Roos battle back, cutting into the Mountaineers’ lead. Austin cut Schreiner’s lead to five early in the fourth quarter, but Thomas answered by hitting a 3-pointer to boost the lead back to eight. The Roos cut it to a two-point 50-48 lead with 4:25, and Thomas hit another shot to give the Mountaineers breathing room.
Thomas scored 11 of her 21 points in the second half, including seven in the fourth quarter. The performance was a season-high for Thomas, who shot 72% from the field. She also played a season-high 22 minutes. Demauria Miles added 16 points, including three 3-pointers.
